China's rare earth mining poisons Mekong River, Southeast Asia pays the price

Photo-Rare earth element mining operations have been rapidly expanding in Myanmar's Kachin State, and it has now become the world's largest source of rare earth elements. Sun Lee, Mizzima The Mekong River is not just a scenic view for 70 million people, but a daily livelihood and source of income. It is also the main reason why villages are settled in their current locations. Now, for the first time in history, it has been confirmed that arsenic toxins are present in the sediments of the main Mekong River. This has reached not only the tributaries but also the main river, and the source of the toxic mud is due to the rapid expansion of mining operations, which China has been excavating and exporting, and from which it continues to profit to this day. To China's backyard, Myanmar's border - This incident began as an environmental cleanup operation, but it is a cleanup that benefits no one downstream. When China tightened its restrictions on rare earth mining operations due to their environmental impact, the most polluting components did not disappear but were merely relocated. Mining operations that once devastated the hills of southern China have migrated across the border into Myanmar's Kachin and Shan states. This was also a time when central authority in Myanmar had collapsed due to the 2021 military coup, and ethnic armed organizations controlled the resource-rich border regions. Numbers bear witness to this rapid relocation. In Kachin State alone, the number of mining concessions increased from about 130 in 2020 to over 370 by the end of 2024. Rare earth element exports from Myanmar to China (especially rare earth minerals, which are used in electric vehicles - EVs, motors, and wind turbines, and cause extensive environmental damage) have more than doubled in the two years since the coup. Of the recorded exports worth US$4.2 billion between 2017 and 2024, 85 percent were exported after the military coup. In 2023, Myanmar supplied over 60 percent of China's total rare earth mineral imports. This amount significantly exceeded China's domestic mining quota for that year. China has been watching this change and has pretended not to be involved with the environmental pollution consequences emanating from these operations. Satellite imagery records from the US-based StartSan Center have identified 833 unregulated mining sites along the Mekong River basin, 86 of which have been confirmed as rare earth element mining sites using toxic sludge reservoirs covered with blue tarpaulins. More than half of these sites were initiated between 2024 and 2026. Arsenic contamination has now reached the main Mekong River, and in early 2026, tests conducted in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, Thailand, found that all 23 monitoring stations exceeded safety standards for the first time in history. The arsenic concentration in the Mekong River is 0.096 milligrams per liter in the main river and up to 0.554 milligrams per liter in a tributary, which is more than 55 times the World Health Organization (WHO) standard. It is estimated that the economic damage to Thailand's Kok River alone will be 1.3 billion baht (approximately US$40 million) by September 2025, and if not addressed, the damage could exceed US$90 million. Meanwhile, 127 suspected mining sites have been recorded in the Mekong River basin between 2016 and 2026, with rapid expansion observed since 2023. Each of these figures represents rare earth metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, and manganese, which remain in the sediments, contaminate fish, and accumulate in human bodies. These have contaminated rice, garlic, and lentils that enter the global supply chain. A very convenient arrangement for China - The most uncomfortable aspect of this predicament, which critics point to regarding China's role, is that China is reaping double benefits. On paper, China's domestic environmental protection record is improving, but in reality, Chinese factories are continuously receiving these toxic materials at low prices from just 50 miles away across the border, instead of mining them domestically. Chinese companies and buyers directly engage with armed groups such as the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). They are funding armed groups that are financing their civil war with mining revenues, while evading any responsibility for the environmental damage caused by these mines. When Kachin fighters seized key rare earth producing towns in 2024, China's response was not environmental concern, but closing the border to pressure trade terms. Then, when exports resumed, a new price agreement was made. This action clearly conveys the message that "the continuous flow of minerals is paramount, and the problem of toxic sludge is someone else's issue." Furthermore, China controls about 90 percent of global rare earth refining, giving it a significant advantage. It has openly used export restrictions as a geopolitical weapon to pressure the United States, Japan, and the European Union in trade disputes, by holding this lifeline. This dominance allows China to set its own environmental standards for the raw materials entering its refining plants. However, China has not done so. Regional organizations such as the Mekong River Commission are working on the river